Judge strikes down Trump bar on asylum, visa processing for 39 countries

A federal judge has struck sweeping restrictions imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump on immigration processing for 39 countries.

The ruling on Friday by District Judge John McConnell condemned the restrictions imposed in November 2025, following the Washington, DC shooting of two National Guard members.

McConnell said the policy effectively barred citizens from 39 countries from receiving final decisions on asylum cases, green cards, work approval and citizenship applications.

The change “threw the lives of countless immigrants living in the United States into indeterminate legal limbo”, he wrote in the ruling.

McConnell particularly took issue with the Trump administration’s claims that the restrictions were needed to address national security concerns.

He said US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) used “pretextual concerns of ‘national security’ that mask anti-immigrant sentiments”.

“USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth,” the judge said.

“Over six months later, many of those individuals remain without work, without legal status, and without any meaningful ability to plan for their futures,” McConnell said.